Hawaii - Cricket in Waikiki

The main reason for this holiday in Hawaii was to play cricket. This is the second year that an Australian over 60s team has played matches at the ground of the Honolulu Cricket Club. The ground is part of Kapiolani Park situated at the base of Diamond Head, a picturesque setting.

Heavy rain before the Australians arrived in Hawaii meant that the ground was wet and the grass long. The first match was therefore delayed for a day to enable the grass to be cut.

Although the grass was cut it was still long and the cut grass had not been raked and removed from the ground. However two 20/20 matches were played on Wednesday 9 September.

Twenty- seven players from Victoria and Tasmania plus one from Western Australia travelled to Hawaii to play cricket. For the 20/20 games the players were divided into three teams - the Oahu Owls (Red), the Kauai Kingfishers (Purple) and the Maui Macaws (Gold). Over three days they were to play each of the other teams two times. A predetermined points system has been designed to decide the winning team.

Each team has its own shirt and cap for these matches.

The four games played on the Wednesday and Thursday have been close matches providing some exciting cricket. The first match is scheduled for a 9 am start with the second match commencing after the 12 noon lunch break. As the weather has been hot and humid there are regular drink breaks.

Lunch is not just the opportunity to eat and have a cold drink, it is also the time to check the scorebook and discuss tactics for the next game.

During the lunch break of the first game, one of the Honolulu Cricket Club members raked up some of the cut grass from the ground.

The final game of the 20/20 competition was due to be played on the Friday however consistent rain on Thursday night and Friday morning resulted in the postponement of the day's play. More than an inch of rain fell overnight. Still so far play has been possible on two out of three days.